Afternoons for Thursday 28 April 2022

1:15 World War II field gun discovered in a Greytown paddock

Around the globe, reminents of World War II are still being discovered, and New Zealand is no exception.

A 1942 25-pounder field gun - commonly used by the British during the war - has been found in a Greytown paddock where it's been gathering rust for about 16 years.

Paul Weldrand, national co-ordinator for Group Op Ubique, who has been charged with refurbishing the weapon talks to Wallace about the discovery.

1:20 WWI Veterans of Le Quesnoy remembered

This week we're running a series of WWI veteran stories with Jude Dobson. We share the stories of four men who were all fighting in the Northern French town of Les Quesnoy. We also, today, play a song from one of the men's grandchildren, inspired by the letters which have been read out. Today's episode is about Reverend Clive Mortimer Jones who wrote back to his New Zealand parish talking about his life on the front line as a war time chaplain.

1:30 Success in minimising food waste in Wellington

Wellington is finally seeing the results of a 12-month food waste diversion trial launched in October 2020.

Known as the Para Kai Miramar Peninsula Trial, it provided 950 households with either a free compost bin, worm farm, or bokashi bin OR access to a weekly kerbside food waste collection service.

Councillor Laurie Foon talks to Wallace about the trial and the results.

1:40 'Give It A Whirl' documentary launched on NZ on Screen

The NZ On Screen website is a great resource for revisiting great TV and film moments from our past, and the library is slowly building.

A recent addition is 'Give It A Whirl', a six-part documentary that originally screened in 2003.

It recounts the history of rock 'n' roll in Aotearoa and features such greats as Johnny Cooper, Tim Finn, and Ray Columbus.

One of the series' researchers and associate producers Michael Higgins talks to Wallace.

1:45 Great album: The Velvet Underground soundtrack

Today's link 3 winner will get a vinyl copy of The Velvet Underground sound track. This soundtrack was curated by the documentary's director Todd Haynes, and music supervisor Randall Poster. It features well-known and rare tracks from The Velvet Underground, as well as songs and performances that influenced the band including the doo-wop of the Diablos, the groundbreaking rock n' roll of Bo Diddley, and the avant-garde compositions of La Monte Young. Also included is a booklet with exclusive liner notes by Todd Haynes.

2:10 Music Critic: Colin Morris

Today Colin Morris reviews music from Brazilian musician, Bolo Sete and looks behind the scenes of the song I Put A Spell On You by Screaming Jay Hawkins, released in 1954.

2:25 NZ Sporting History: Black power VS The Cops at League

Today on NZ Sporting History we have something a little different. We go back to 1989 when, on September 2nd, a very unique game of rugby league was played.  

It was a Black Power team versus a team from the New Zealand Police.

Officially - Black Power - the gang - against the Manukau Police rugby league team

Former policeman Tony Solomona who was one of the cops who lined up for the blues on that day, he joins Wallace to talk about the unique match and how it came about!

3:10 Link 3

3:15 Solving the World's Problems with Dave Armstrong

Today, writer, playwright and columnist Dave Armstrong looks at a couple of big issues for Wellingtonians, libraries and more violence on the city streets.

3:20 History with Dr Grant Morris

This week Dr Grant Morris looks back at the history of New Zealand's most famous actors. New Zealand has gone through a golden age of acting during the last few decades with many Kiwis becoming film and TV stars both here and overseas.  But it wasn't always this way.  Dr Morris looks at our most famous actors in the period before the 1990s.

3:35 Spoken Feature BBC Witness

In the 1980s, Pakistani squash player Jahangir Khan became a legend in his sport by going undefeated for five years. But, as Shumaila Jaffery discovers, to become unbeatable, Khan had to overcome childhood illness and family tragedy.

3:45 The Panel with Alexia Russell and Martin Bosley